Why I exchanged a Marantz Consolette for the NAD VISO 1 AP.... I had been using a Bose Soundlink portable for my iPad and MacBook Pro's audio needs but soon decided that I wanted something bigger and better. I started my quest by purchasing a Marantz Consolette which given the current discounted price was quite a bargain. In many ways it lives up to its fine reputation by the many online reviewers; On the other hand I did have some issues with the Marantz which was a deal breaker for me. I tried to load an available firmware update but no matter what I tried to do, the update would always fail. I also had problems with the iOS app that never seemed to work. These were some of the reasons why I returned the unit and purchased an NAD VISO 1 AP as its replacement, especially when I found out that the NAD had both Bluetooth AND Airplay (unlike the Marantz). I am very happy that I made the switch. To me the NAD sounds better than the Marantz did since it has much fuller bass. It does not play quite as loud as the Marantz but I'm still very happy with the overall volume which has no distortion even at maximum setting. Bluetooth sounds surprisingly good even though I use a non adapt-x codec. Sure the Marantz looks lovely in the back with that wonderful wood and it certainly has an excellent remote compared to the cheesy one that comes with the NAD, but when I look at their fronts, I liked the NAD better. It is extremely stylish and unique in its own way. I also like the fact that the NAD is an all digital design which includes an optical input. I paid full price for the NAD ($599) which was the same price as the discounted Marantz so it was an "Even-Steven" trade-off when I returned the Marantz for the NAD VISO 1 AP. The Marantz Consolette is a fine piece of equipment and when given a high-quality music source it does sound pretty fantastic. However, I do think that lower quality sources do sound a little bit sour coming out of that unit. The NAD sounds pretty great with all kinds music, even lower bit MP3. I even find myself using it's Bluetooth mode most of the time because it's that good. I am not saying that the NAD doesn't have any flaws since it does lose its network settings when I leave it in standby mode for extended period. I suppose that could be the fault of my Apple network and I must point out that the NAD gets it DNS settings restored very quickly after I power cycle it. This is only a problem when using the standby power mode. To avoid having to reset it, I can simply leave it turned on 24-7. Besides, the Bluetooth indicator on the great touch panel is such a lovely blue that I do not mind seeing it day and night! Overall I am extremely pleased with the NAD VISO 1 AP. Such a fine unit and worth every penny. Quite a remarkable piece of engineering.